Mr Swire welcomed the Science Park’s £6m expansion which is due to open in August 2012.

The Minister said : “This Science Park is one of Northern Ireland’s great success stories and demonstrates the contribution that innovation and skill in these specialist areas brings to the whole community in Northern Ireland. I welcome this expansion and in particular the high quality employment opportunities it brings.”

The Northern Ireland Science Park, has become one of the top ten internationally recognised Science Parks in the UK and Ireland. It is home to ECIT ( QUB’s research institute for Electronics, Communications and IT), which was also visited by the Minister, and around 100 companies with a total employee base of around 1500. It is estimated that these businesses, mostly from outside Northern Ireland, turn over some £50m. The Concourse Phase 11 Complex expansion supported by DETI, Belfast Harbour and Barclays Bank, is due to open in 2012.